Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey
by NATFreak
Summary: In order to escape an abusive father, a young girl obtains the power of a squirrel and decides to go on a journey with four other young people who wield the power of an animal. R&R.
1. The Beginning of a New Adventure

Disclaimer: I do not own +Anima, just Kailey.

 **A/N: Welcome to the first chapter of my very first +Anima fanfiction. I absolutely love +Anima; it's a beautiful, not to mention well-done manga by Natsumi Mukai. I love the idea of +Anima and all its characters so much that I discovered my own. So, before we get this show on the road, I just want to make it clear that Kailey IS NOT a Mary Sue. Now that that's out of the way, let's get this party started! Enjoy!**

 _Crash!_

' _Again?!' Harold Everson exclaimed as his twelve year old daughter dropped the plate she was drying. It had slipped out of her hands when she had jumped at the sound of her father banging the front door open. 'That's the third time this week! Can't you do anything right?!'_

' _I-I'm sorry, Father,' the girl murmured, bowing her head. 'I-I didn't mean to.'_

' _You never do,' replied her father as he strutted to his room. He returned a few moments later with the leather whip he used to break horses back when he had been a soldier in the Astarian army. 'Obviously giving you a good smack isn't working. Maybe this will remind you to pay attention to what you are doing instead of breaking every dish we own in this damn house!'_

 _The girl's dark eyes widened in fear as her father took a step towards her. She then darted around him and ran out the front door. Her bare feet pounded down the dirt road heading for the woods as her plain brown dress swirled violently around her._

' _What should I do?' she thought frantically. 'Even if I get to the forest I won't be able to climb any of the trees and Father is right behind me. Someone, anyone, help me please!'_

 _The girl gasped in pain as her hands suddenly began to curve. Her nails elongated and sharpened into black points as tufts of red fur covered the backs of her hands. She then felt her tail bone ache and turned to see that she had a fluffy red tail. 'I-I'm a squirrel!'_

 _Without a moment's hesitation the young girl scurried up the nearest, tallest tree and hid in its foliage. 'Now I'll be safe. But, what happened to me?'_

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

Kailey smiled to herself as she carried her pile of acorns up the tree's trunk in the skirt of her torn, dirty dress.

After her father had chased her into the woods nearly four months ago, Kailey Everson had been living in the same tree with the powers that had saved her life which she used to scrounge up any food she could get her paws on.

Although she had been doing well on her own, Kailey could not help but feel a little lonely.

 _Maybe I should try heading to a town,_ the young girl mused as she reached for another acorn and accidentally dropped it. _Not again._

The acorn fell and hit one of two boys who had been walking by.

"Ow!" cried the boy as he raised a gloved hand and jumped out of the way. He had silver hair and blue eyes that were so dark they looked almost purple. "What the heck was that?!"

The other boy laughed at him. He had long black hair and dark brown eyes. "You look funny, Husky."

"Shut up, Cooro!" Husky yelled back at him as his whole face turned red. He then noticed the acorn on the ground where he had just been and picked it up. "An acorn? I got hit in the head by an acorn?"

"I'm sorry!" Kailey apologized as she jumped down from her branch, scaring the crap out of the two boys in the process. "I didn't mean to drop it. It was an accident."

"Aw, it's alright," Cooro assured her. His dark eyes lit up as he took in her paws and tail. "You're a +Anima!"

Kailey took a step back. "I-I'm sorry?"

"You have the powers of an animal," Husky clarified who was also keeping his distance as he watched her carefully. "By the looks of it you're a squirrel +Anima. What were you doing in that tree anyway? Have you been living up there?"

Kailey nodded slightly. "For the past few months, yeah."

"Are you all alone?" asked Cooro. Kailey nodded again making the boy grin. "You should come with us then!"

Kailey stared at him incredulously. "R-really?"

"Yeah!" said Cooro as he glanced over at Husky. "Right, Husky?"

Husky looked away. "Whatever."

Cooro grinned and turned back to Kailey. "What's your name?"

"Kailey," she murmured.

"It's nice to meet you, Kailey! I'm Cooro," he told her, his smile never faltering. "And that's Husky. Welcome to the family!"

 _Family, huh?_

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

"Man I'm starving," whined Cooro as the three of them walked into Abon Village. It was a small place filled with shops and lots of dust. "Hey Husky, can't we get something to eat?"

 _With what money?_ inquired Kailey as the silver haired boy sighed and reached into his pants' pocket. The young girl automatically flinched but relaxed when Husky pulled out the most beautiful wig she had ever seen. "W-where did you get that?"

Husky merely glared at her before heading towards the nearest stall.

"What is his problem?" Kailey asked Cooro. "Why is he so mean?"

"Husky isn't mean," the dark haired boy replied. "I think he just doesn't like girls because he looks like one. He was actually playing a mermaid princess in a circus tent when I found him."

Kailey stared at him with her mouth hanging open. "H-Husky was a mermaid princess?!"

Cooro nodded. "Mhm. That wig he's selling right now? That was part of his costume. He made a pretty girl too."

 _Well that explains a lot,_ decided Kailey as Husky returned wearing a floral fabric as a shirt in place of the leaves he had been using before. He was also carrying a bag of bread and a canteen filled with water. Kailey blushed as her stomach growled loudly.

"Here," Husky reached into the paper bag and tossed her a roll. He then turned to Cooro without waiting for her to say so much as a thank you.

Despite the boy's rudeness Kailey found herself smiling as she bit into the first real food she had had in months. The burst of flavor made the young girl sigh contentedly as she took another bite. _So good._

Husky watched Kailey as she enjoyed here meal as two punks sauntered up to them. Apparently they were from some Garrison Gang and the village belonged to them. They also informed them that they were not fond of visitors before running them out.

"What was their problem?" demanded Kailey, panting. "They didn't have to kick us out like that!"

"They're gang members," replied Husky as if that alone explained everything. "What did you expect?"

"I don't know," Kailey admitted. "I've never seen gang members before." _How was I supposed to know, o knowledgeable one?_

"So what do we do know, Husky?" inquired Cooro. "How are we going to get through the village?"

 _Good question,_ thought Kailey as Husky thought about it for a moment. He then noticed the river flowing nearby and smiled.

"We use that," the boy replied, pointing at the water. "That river goes right through the village. We can use it as our guide."

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

 _Now I see why that circus had him play a_ _ **mermaid**_ _princess,_ noted Kailey as Husky utilized his fish +Anima to grow gills, scales, and more notably a tail. _That would certainly make breathing underwater easier…_ "Wait, if you're going to swim what are Cooro and I going to do?"

"Oh you don't have to worry about me," Cooro assured her as two beautiful black wings protruded from his back and spread out behind him. He flapped them a few times and took off into the air.

"Okay then what about me?" She turned back to Husky who was wading in the river and gave him what she hoped was a meaningful look.

The silver haired boy sighed. "Let me guess, you can't swim."

"Nope," Kailey confirmed.

"That's okay," said Cooro as he swooped down behind her and lifted the squirrel +Anima off her feet. "See? I can carry you."

"For the record, I am not okay with this," Kailey muttered as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Then it's settled," Husky declared, smirking up at her. "Let's move."

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

 _Boys and their bright ideas,_ mused Kailey sullenly, glancing down at Husky as they traveled along the river unmolested. That's when it hit her. _Looks like I just came up with a bright idea of my own._ "Hey Cooro?"

"Yeah?" asked the dark haired boy as he stared down at her.

"How fast can you go?"

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

Evidently Cooro could go very fast. The two +Anima had left Husky far behind in what felt like seconds.

 _Serves him right,_ thought Kailey as Cooro gently dropped her onto a field of flowers. _I just wish I knew why he hated me so mu-_ "Cooro, watch out!"

Cooro had been picking the flowers when a giant creature suddenly appeared behind him.

 _A bear?_ wondered Kailey as Cooro yelped and jumped out of the way before flying to her side. _No, wait. It's a person. He must be a +Anima like us. Maybe…_

"Gee, thanks for waiting for me guys," Husky called sarcastically before realizing they were being attacked and stopped dead in his tracks but it was too late. The bear +Anima turned at the sound of his voice and charged Husky instead except this time he dropped something.

 _It's a book,_ discovered Kailey as she picked it up. _It's got to be pretty important or he wouldn't keep it on him. Maybe this will calm him down enough for us to talk._

Kailey ran over to the two +Anima and threw herself between them, holding the book above her head so that the bear +Anima could see it. The bear +Anima froze mid-attack, his claws inches away from the book.

"He stopped," Husky murmured in disbelief. "Why?"

"This book must be really important to him," Kailey murmured back, never taking her chocolate eyes off the bear +Anima. "I'm right, aren't I?"

The bear +Anima dropped his claws and nodded. Up close he was a tall, skinny guy with long brown hair and wore an eyepatch over his left eye.

"What's your name?" Kailey asked him.

"…Senri."

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

"So Senri's been protecting you from the Garrison gang?" inquired Kailey later that night after she and the boys found themselves taken in by the villagers who had come running to see what was going on and realized they were just kids and not members of the Garrison gang.

"That's right, dear," an elderly woman confirmed as she led them to her small thatched house and began to make them dinner. Apparently Abon Village had its own specialty called Abon Weed Stir Fry. "You see, our fields are full of Abon weed but the Garrison gang wants to dig them up so that they can mine for gold."

"There's really gold here?!" breathed Cooro as their hostess handed each of them a bowl overflowing with Abon weed Stir Fry.

The old woman shook her head. "See they believe that Abon weed is a gold indicator that grows on top of veins of gold ore when in fact the weed is only useful for medical purposes."

 _No wonder I'm starting to feel better,_ mused Kailey as she finished the first real meal she'd had in months. "This is so good."

The woman smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. A young skinny thing like you could use a little meat on those bones. Would you like some more?"

Kailey blushed and nodded as the woman gave her another helping. "Thank you."

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

"Can't sleep?" guessed Husky as he sat down on the grass next to her. "…Thanks, by the way, for earlier."

Kailey stared at him. _Did he just say-?_

"What?" demanded Husky. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"It's nothing," Kailey replied. "It's just that I've never been thanked before. It's…nice."

Husky cocked a silver eyebrow but let it go. "Okay then. I'm going to go get some sleep. Night."

"Good night," murmured Kailey but the former mermaid princess had already walked back into the hut. The young girl smiled. _I guess even moody, girl hating boys can be nice sometimes._

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

The next day Kailey, Husky, and Cooro were joining Senri in the Abon weed field when they spotted the bear +Anima being attacked by members of the Garrison gang.

The boys ran to help as Senri clawed the nearest thug, leaving a long red slash on his arm. Kailey would have helped too but someone grabbed her hair and lifted her off the ground.

"Let me go!" yelled Kailey as she tried in vain to twist out of the iron grip of whoever was holding her.

"Kailey!" cried Cooro, throwing a watermelon at her captor's head.

The watermelon connected with its target leaving Kailey sticky and covered in seeds and although she remained a captive, the moment did allow the squirrel +Anima to catch a glimpse of the thug who was holding her.

"Y-you're a woman?!" exclaimed Kailey as she continued to stare at an incredibly well-dress, not to mention beautiful, blond woman.

"I am the boss of the Garrison gang, I'll have you know," the blond woman informed her.

"What I want to know," grunted Kailey. "Is why you are holding me by my hair!"

"You're my hostage," she replied simply.

"Hostage for what?" inquired Husky. "The Abon weed?"

"Exactly," the boss confirmed as she raised a gun to Kailey's temple. "Leave this field now and we will give the girl back to you, after we find the gold of course."

Kailey knew the situation didn't call for it but she couldn't help it, the young +Anima laughed.

"And what is so funny?" demanded her captor.

"You and your gang," Kailey told her, still laughing. "You're all so stupid. The Abon weed isn't an indicator for gold, it's a weed with medicinal attributes that make up the village's famous cuisine."

"In other words," said Husky, smirking. "There is no gold."

"Which means you've been wasting your time," added Kailey.

The blond woman gritted her teeth and threw Kailey to the ground. "Well then, we might as well burn the entire field to the ground."

Kailey gaped at her. "You can't. You wouldn't."

The boss smiled. "Oh I can and I will. You just wait and see."

 **A/N: And there you have it! The first chapter of my very first +Anima fanfic. I hope you all enjoyed it. Until next time, read review and show the love!**


	2. The Bat Thief of Octopus Town

Disclaimer: I do not own +Anima. I do own Kailey.

 **A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to the second chapter of my first ever +Anima fanfiction! Since it is the holidays, Kailey and I present this chapter to all of you guys as a gift for staying with this story! So without further ado, here goes. Enjoy!**

"Kailey, are you alright?" Cooro asked the squirrel +Anima as she got to her feet.

"I'm fine," she assured him as they watched the Garrison gang leave to get the explosives they needed to burn the fields. The young girl bit her lip. "We need to stop them before they take the whole village and the villagers with them."

"Yeah, but how?" inquired Husky, cocking a silver eyebrow.

Kailey shook her head. "I don't know but I can't just sit by and do nothing either."

"We need to think about this calmly," the fish +Anima advised as he crossed his arms in thought. "After all, you did almost get shot in the head so we can't afford to be careless."

 _He has a point,_ mused Kailey before noticing that one of them was missing. "Wait, where's Senri?"

Husky looked around them then groaned. "Tell me he didn't…"

"I'll look for him from high up," said Cooro before spreading his black wings and taking flight. The young boy shaded his dark eyes with his right hand. "He's going after the gang."

"Oh no," murmured Kailey as Husky transformed and dived into the river.

"I'm going to swim over there," he told them. "Cooro, you take Kailey and follow me."

Cooro nodded before grabbing Kailey under her arms and lifting her into the air.

 _I just hope we arrive in time,_ thought the squirrel +Anima worriedly as the field went up in flames in front of their eyes. Kailey glanced up at Cooro. "Can you see any of the villagers?"

Cooro nodded. "They're okay."

 _For now anyway._ "And the boss of the Garrison gang?"

"She's in the middle of the field," Cooro told her before staring down at her curiously. "Why?"

"I need you to take me over to her." _Husky isn't going to like this._

~Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey~

Cooro, after a little convincing, flew Kailey over to where the gang's boss was and dropped her at the blonde's feet.

"Now do you believe me, you little brat?" the boss demanded as she spread her arms wide as if to encompass the raging flames. "There won't be anything left of this pathetic field of weeds when my men are done with it."

"I do believe you," replied Kailey. "Which is why I've come here to beg you to stop before the fire takes not only the Abon weed but the villagers too."

The blonde woman scoffed as a cloud began to emerge from the burning weeds, covering her men. "Why should I care about those peasants?"

"What about your men?" challenged Husky as he strode up behind Kailey to stand beside her. "Looks like the local disease is beginning to affect them."

"'Local disease'?" repeated Kailey, cocking her head to the side. "What local disease?"

"The one the lady we stayed with last night told me about," he explained, not looking at her. "It's caused by the Abon weed's pollen."

 _She didn't tell me, though I didn't ask either. I guess Husky's smarter than I thought._ "So why didn't they get rid of the weed? No weed, no symptoms, right?"

"She said the cuisine made from it was just too good to get rid of it," he told them, shrugging. "Apparently, there's a special ingredient in the leaves that neutralizes the poison from the pollen so the cuisine itself is the medicine."

"So everyone who has already eaten some of the cuisine won't be affected," finished Kailey as she turned back to face the boss. "Which means only you and your men will contract the disease unless you stop this madness now and have some of the stir fry. Otherwise you'll all die. Looks like you should care about the villagers, after all."

The blonde woman grimaced as the pollen engulfed her as well causing her to hack so much that she was doubled over. She did manage to glance up at the determined young girl who stood there in her dirty, tattered dress with no shoes and a tangled mess of dark hair before nodding. "Fine, you win. We'll stop destroying the field and leave this village alone after having some stir fry."

Kailey and Husky grinned at each other before realizing how close they were standing and took a couple of big steps away from each other, blushing.

"You just had to do things your way, didn't you?" the former mermaid princess muttered as he returned to not looking at her.

"Everything worked out, didn't it?" she pointed out making him shake his head in exasperation. "What about Senri? Is he alright?"

"He's fine," he replied as he pointed to where Senri and Cooro were surrounded by the villagers. Cooro smiled at them and waved his right hand in the air. "Come on, let's go over there too."

"Yes boss," the squirrel +Anima murmured as Husky stalked away. _Boys._

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

Kailey, Husky, and Cooro were making their way out of Abon village the next day when they spotted a familiar figure.

"Senri, what are you doing here?" asked Kailey as the bear +Anima stood up from where he had sat on a rock to face them.

"Maybe he wants to come with us," said Cooro, excitedly.

"Do you want to come with us, Senri?" inquired Kailey.

Senri did not reply instead he turned around and started heading down the road.

"I guess that's a yes," laughed Kailey as they hurried after him. _Our family just keeps growing and growing. I wonder if we'll add anymore +Anima…_

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

"This place sure does have a funny name," giggled Cooro as the four +Anima walked into Octopus town. "And wow is this place huge."

"That's for sure," agreed Kailey as Husky told them to wait by the water fountain in the center of town before running off. "Where is he going?"

"To get some food I hope," said Cooro as he perched himself on the rim of the fountain. "I'm starving!"

 _Me too,_ thought the squirrel +Anima though she would never admit it out loud. She sighed and leaned against the fountain in between Cooro and Senri and waited.

"Hey look he's coming back," announced Cooro a little while later.

Kailey glanced up to see Husky walking towards them wearing a new shirt and carrying a paper bag filled with bread. "So what part of your mermaid princess outfit did you sell this time?"

"Who told you-?" demanded Husky, blushing crimson before turning on Cooro. "It was you, wasn't it, Cooro?!"

"Yep," the crow +Anima confirmed. Husky clocked him over the head. "Ow, that hurt."

"Husky really likes to be physically violent, huh?" Kailey murmured to Senri but he did not respond. The young girl glanced up at her friend. "You don't say much, but that's okay. That's just who you are-Senri, watch out!"

Two little kids bulled into them causing Husky to drop the bag of bread which the kids stole along with Senri's book as they ran away with the group fast on their heels.

They followed them into a run-down house which had a tunnel that led underground where the two thieves split up. Cooro and Husky decided to go after the one who had stolen the bread while Kailey hurried after Senri as he chased the girl who had taken his book.

Kailey and Senri caught up to the girl who cringed in fear as they trapped her in a corner.

"Please don't hurt me!" the girl squeaked, holding out the book. "I'm sorry I took it. Here, you can have it back."

"Relax, we're not going to hurt you," Kailey reassured her as she gently took the book from the girl and handed it to Senri. "Why did you and your friend steal from us anyway?"

"Delly says it's the only way we'll survive," the girl sniffed as she let Kailey help her to her feet but she slipped and both girls fell into the sewage.

Kailey broke the surface and tugged the girl to her as Senri dove in to save them. "Hold on to me and don't let go, okay?"

"Okay," the girl murmured, clinging to Kailey as Senri reached them and they managed to return to the side and out of the sewage to discover they were all covered in leeches. "Ew!"

"It's alright," soothed the older girl as she started pulling the leeches off of her. "See? They're all gone. Now why don't we help you get back to your friends? My name's Kailey and this is Senri. What's your name?"

"Sammy," said the blond girl. "My name's Sammy."

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

"So this is where you and your friends live?" asked Kailey as Sammy led her and Senri to a spacious cavern underground filled with young girls. "How come there are only girls?"

"Because unlike you, we don't like boys," replied a new voice as a tomboyish looking girl walked over to them with her hands on her hips. "My name's Delly. I'm in charge here. Sammy, what are they doing here?"

"They saved me when I fell into the sewer after I stole from them," Sammy explained as she clung to Kailey's hand.

Delly cocked an eyebrow. "Did they now? These two wouldn't happen to be friends with the boys over there, would they?"

She jerked her thumb behind her at Husky and Cooro who, seeing their friends, hurried over to them. "These two say they were following one of the other girls when they found us."

"That's because we were," said Cooro.

"Did you guys get the bread back?" inquired Kailey remembering how starved she was.

Husky grimaced. "No and I lost my pearls too when I passed out for a second back in the caves."

Delly stared at him with a knowing look on her face. "Did you get dizzy right before?"

Husky nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"There's a girl down here named Nana who used to be with us who uses strange magic to steal things from her victims," Delly told them.

"'Strange magic'?" repeated Kailey as she tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"She uses some strange magic to make people dizzy then takes their wallets," Delly clarified.  
"She'll steal anything of yours that isn't nailed down."

"So she's the one who stole Husky's pearls?" said Cooro.

"Mhm," Delly confirmed.

"This is why I hate girls," muttered Husky.

"Well we're going to have to go find her and get the pearls back," pointed out Kailey. "Where does Nana live anyway?"

"She moved into this creepy cave after she left us a month ago," Delly replied with an odd look in her eyes. "You can stay with us tonight and I'll take you to her tomorrow since you did save Sammy and all."

Kailey glanced at Husky who shrugged. _Guess we're staying here for the night._

~ Nuts, Fish, Apples, Bread, and Honey ~

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said this place was creepy," Kailey murmured as Delly led them to where Nana lived. It was a dark, dank cave crawling with bugs and covered in cobwebs. "Why would anyone want to live in there?"

"Who cares? All I want is my pearls backs," said Husky as they used their +Anima powers to get inside to find a girl with light brown hair and green eyes sitting amidst her stolen items. Husky tackled the girl and pinned her to the ground.

"Ow, let go of me," Nana cried as she struggled in vain to get free.

"Not until you give me my pearls back," growled Husky.

"I don't have your pearls," Nana told him as Husky stared at her disbelievingly.

"But Delly…" Kailey began as she turned around to discover Delly was gone. "Wait, where did Delly go? She was right here."

"Delly's the one who must have stolen your pearls," said Nana. "She hates all +Anima."

"I knew there was something off about her," groaned Kailey as Husky released Nana and ran angrily out of the cave back to the hideout. "Husky, wait!"

They hurried after him to confront Delly only to find out that Nana had lied to them and it was she who had stolen the pearls.

"This is ridiculous," panted Kailey as they chased after Nana.

Husky caught up to her and tackled Nana again which resulted in a struggle that ended up with the string of pearls being broken.

 _This just keeps getting better and better,_ thought Kailey as Husky and Nana continued to bicker. _I guess he really does hate all girls. The question is what do we do now?_

 **A/N: And there you have it! I hope you all enjoyed! Til next time, read review and show the love! Happy Holidays!**


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